Good Reads & Views

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
Nonfiction

What it’s about: In 1986, 20yr old Christopher Knight drives his Subaru deep into the Maine woods, abandons it and starts walking. He ends up staying in the Woods for 27 years, living off food and other items he steals from a summer camp and local homes during a thousand plus break-ins. The installation of new Homeland Security equipment finally aids in his apprehension.

Want a taste? “Knight said that when he ran out of toilet paper, he sometimes tore pages from John Grisham novels. He mentioned that he didn't like Jack Kerouac either, but this wasn't quite true. ‘I don't like people who like Jack Kerouac,’ he clarified.”

Of note: A National Geographic Best Book of the Year.

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The Last Hours by Minette Walters
Fiction

What it’s about: Lady Anne despises her cruel husband and is hated by her spoiled daughter. After her husband succumbs to a deadly pestilence while away on business, she assumes control of his people and quarantines everyone inside the moat surrounding the house in order to protect them from the deadly sickness that is spreading in all of England.

Not for the squeamish: “The living conditions in Bradmayne are vile; one might think "Men urinated where they stood" would say it all about a village, but the author spares no detail in showing what grossness causes stench and attracts vermin. People seem not to connect these godawful conditions with the "killing sickness in the village" that carries "a deadly pestilence with putrid boils" and requires the digging of mass graves” (Kirkus).

Sequel note: The Turn of Midnight is coming out in August 2019 and continues where The Last Hours left off.

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An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten
Fiction

Featuring: Maud, a Swedish lady in her upper 80’s. She never married, lives alone, and prefers to keep it that way.

What it’s about: Maud lives in a nice, big apartment in a building that used to belong to her family. She pretends to be a sweet, confused, and rather frail old lady when it suits her, but woe to those who invoke her wrath. She’s actually in great physical shape for someone her age, sharp as a tack, and ruthless beyond measure when it comes to - permanently - getting rid of nuisances that interfere with her enjoyment of life… A small book, but, like Maud, it packs a punch.

Author note: Helene Tursten also writes the Irene Huss crime series and Irene makes a brief appearance in this book.

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The Truth and Other Lies by Sascha Arango
Fiction

What it’s about: Famous bestselling author Henry Hayden is happily married to Martha, who, unbeknownst to everybody, is the one actually penning all his books. Life is good, but then Henry’s mistress Betty, whom truth be told he is not particularly fond of, informs him that she is pregnant. Before long, Martha ends up dead and Henry has to try to keep the carefully created façade of his life from unraveling.

Want a taste?  “But men are never more cowardly and their lies never more pathetic than when they’re caught with their pants down. Isn’t that so, gentlemen?”

Reviewers say: “this is one wicked tale. You keep waiting for the author to slip, plot-wise, but, as with his protagonist, you wait in vain” (Kirkus).>

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The Outsider by Stephen King
Fiction

Starring: Ralph Anderson, Flint City detective, and Holly Gibney, former assistant to Bill Hodges of Mr. Mercedes fame.

What it’s about: It looks like an open and shut case when Terry Maitland, local coach and all-around great guy, is arrested for the brutal murder of an 11-yr old boy. There were reliable witnesses who saw Maitland, and his DNA and fingerprints are all over the evidence. Ralph Anderson is sure he has the right guy and arrests him at a public event. But then Maitland produces an iron-clad alibi that has witnesses and DNA evidence putting him in a different place when the murder was committed. The contradictory evidence is grounds to bring in investigator Holly Gibney, who played a crucial part in King’s Bill Hodges trilogy. This being Stephen King, the supernatural eventually finds its way into the plot and if you have a phobia about worms you may want to let someone else recap the last part for you.

Audio note: This is a great experience on audio; Will Patton does an excellent job voicing all the characters, with much emotion and expertise, as he did for King’s Bill Hodges trilogy.>

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Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Fiction

What it’s about: Frustrated with her kind but incompetent father’s unsuccessful running of the family’s moneylending business, young Miryem takes over, starts collecting outstanding debts, and puts the business back on sound footing. When she is overheard boasting of her ability to turn silver into gold, she draws the attention of the Staryk, creatures who haunt the woods, ruled by a king of winter who loves gold.

Reviewers say: “A medieval fable of obscure moral import blossoms into a thoughtful, emotionally complex, absorbing drama that stands confidently on its own merits” (Kirkus). “This masterly, immersive high fantasy tale is grounded in real-world challenges and opportunities for growth” (Library Journal). “This book is about the determination and quiet competence of women doing remarkable things without knowing first that they can do them” (NYT Book Review).

You might also like: Novik's Uprooted, an award winning fantasy that Publishers Weekly called "a tale that is both elegantly grand and earthily humble, familiar as a Grimm fairy tale yet fresh, original, and totally irresistible." 

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Hotel Silence by Auður A. Ólafsdóttir
Fiction

What it’s about: Jonas Ebeneser, divorced and recently told he is not the biological father of his daughter, decides to end it all with a rope and a hook attached to his living room ceiling. After careful consideration, though, he decides that he does not want his daughter to be the one to find him. Instead, he resolves to go “on vacation,” check into a hotel in some war-torn land far away, and do the deed there. After his arrival at said hotel, however, things don’t go quite as planned.

Reviewers say: “An engaging and surprising tale of transformation, told in almost allegorical form, perfect for fans of second chances and evolving perspectives” (Kirkus). “Witty, soulful, lighthearted, and tender, this charming and immersive new work from the award-winning author of Butterflies in November is a great choice for book discussion groups" (Library Journal). >

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Whispers of the Dead by Spencer Kope
Fiction

Starring: FBI agent Jimmy Donovan, who has a knack for profiling, and Magnus “Steps” Craig, Donovan’s partner, who has the special ability of seeing an individual’s “shine” – a unique color and texture signature specific to each person. Both work for the FBI’s Special Tracking Unit and first appeared in Collecting the Dead.

What it’s about: Jimmy and Steps investigate after a styrofoam ice box containing a pair of severed feet is left at the house of a federal judge. The “ice box killer” leaves behind a trail of ice blue “shine” for Steps to follow when more severed feet show up.

Reviewers say: “Thriller devotees will devour this unpredictable mystery, wanting more from Steps and Jimmy” (Library Journal). “With its deadpan banter and gritty narrative, Kope's second case has a Dirty Harry vibe and finds a sweet noir groove” (Kirkus).

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How It Happened by Michael Koryta
Fiction

What it’s about: FBI interrogation specialist Rob Barrett takes on the case of a double murder in Maine and gets a confession out of local drug addict Kimmie Crepeaux. She confesses to having helped conceal the murders and accuses well-known and well-liked local resident Mathias Burke of committing the murders. Problem is, when the lake where Burke supposedly dumped the bodies is searched, nothing is found and Kimmie is branded a liar. Only Barrett believes her and starts to investigate Burke, making enemies of the local community and law enforcement.

Reviewers say: Kirkus calls it “flawless, unpredictable storytelling,” and Publishers Weekly writes that Koryta “has few peers in combining murder mysteries with psychological puzzles.”

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Force of Nature  by Jane Harper
Fiction

What it’s about: Five female employees of an accounting firm are sent on a team-building exercise in the Australian wilderness, but only four return. Federal Agents Falk and Cooper get involved in the search for Alice, the missing woman, because she was their inside source in an investigation of possible money laundering by the firm.

Series alert: This is Harper’s second thriller featuring Aaron Falk, after The Dry, which won The British Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger award for the best crime novel of the year in 2017.

Reviewers say: Publishers Weekly calls it “a gripping tale of an elemental battle for survival,” and Kirkus writes that “Harper layers her story with hidden depths, expertly mining the distrust between Alice and her four colleagues, and the secrets that simmer under the surface.”

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